The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake
Planet Money
- Published
- May 22, 2026
- Duration
- 26:58
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Jun 10, 2026
Discusses How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what…
Summary
How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what many economists used to believe. But over the years, a lot of rapidly developing economies have stalled out. These countries aren't poor anymore, but they're not rich either. They're stuck in the middle. The World Bank calls this problem the "middle income…
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Show notes
How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what many economists used to believe. But over the years, a lot of rapidly developing economies have stalled out. These countries aren't poor anymore, but they're not rich either. They're stuck in the middle. The World Bank calls this problem the "middle income trap."And if there's a poster child for the middle income trap, many would point to Brazil. For a time, Brazil had one of the fastest growing